What is the best Safari type top available? This is the type of soft top I've decided to go with and I see there are a few different brands on the market such as Bestop Safari, Pavement Ends Sun Cap and Smitty Built Extended Brief Top.

Does anyone have experience with any of these? Is one clearly better than the others in regards to fit or functionality (material quality, doesn't flap, etc.)?

I got a bestop safari top cause I got a hard top & it great, but I agree if I had a soft top I wouldn't have bought one, cause a soft top has the samething & u can through the sides back on in a hurry. Once I get a soft top I'll prob sell the safari top.

I mean-if you take the windows out of the factory top, you now have a safari top-right?

I bought one for my Yj years ago and realized I wasted money on something I already had in the factory top. Used it once

I really do not know the benefits of one

If I already had a soft top I would agree with you, but I've got a hard top. Now that my hard top is off for the summer, I'm looking for something to keep the sun (keep things a little cooler) and occasional rain shower off the dash, front and rear seats but still maintain that open air feeling.

If I already had a soft top I would agree with you, but I've got a hard top. Now that my hard top is off for the summer, I'm looking for something to keep the sun (keep things a little cooler) and occasional rain shower off the dash, front and rear seats but still maintain that open air feeling.

I understand but - why not go with a full soft top for the spring/summer and have all the options?
Actually-- if one has a garage, and another vehicle for everyday driving, then the jeep can just be parked and only takin out on nice days. I would consider a safari
then

Only thing I hated when I first got my bikini was the fact if you got caught in the rain, wasn't worried about back that much, the water came in around the door pretty hard sometimes. Door surrounds corrected that but coming from a hardtop only, I had to buy the surrounds separate and they were very expensive. $200 but were well worth the extra investment. Not only for stopping water around doors but wind noise too around door

Still a little mad at Bestop but getting over it, lol. If you can raise a little extra money, the Trektop NX so far is worth the money. Plan on running it mainly as a Safari and love the sunrider feature to open the front up, and when the weather is bad for a few days in a row, it is a lot easier to zip in the windows then to put the hardtop back on. I know you can get it for $549 shipped but got mine for $499 shipped so you can get it cheaper. That way you get all the hardware including the door surrounds.

Still a little mad at Bestop but getting over it, lol. If you can raise a little extra money, the Trektop NX so far is worth the money. Plan on running it mainly as a Safari and love the surider feature to open the front up, and when the weather is bad for a few days in a roll, it is a lot easier to zip in the windows then to put the hardtop back on. I know you can get it for $549 shipped but got mine for $499 shipped so you can get it cheaper. That way you get all the hardware including the door surrounds.

Bought the NX for my Tj right before I traded it in, awesome top.

I just bought a used OEM top for my 07 and love it. Paid $500 which is good because they sell for $1200 new.
It's in perfect shape. Totally worth the $500--the OEM top is made so well and just might be more quiet than the hard top.

I was looking at the Safari top primarily to go the inexpensive route. The first thing I did was look on Craigslist for someone getting rid of their OEM soft top cheap, but didn't find anything. I will definitely check out the Trektop NX.

I was looking at the Safari top primarily to go the inexpensive route. The first thing I did was look on Craigslist for someone getting rid of their OEM soft top cheap, but didn't find anything. I will definitely check out the Trektop NX.

I posted a want add, gave up for the summer since I just bought my 07 a month ago. Got the response on Thurs night

Pretty much put it like this:

" I want a OEM soft top and I'm not paying $800-$1000 used, if you have one and need some extra cash call me. Looking to spend no more than $500"

Well, back in April Jeepaddons dot com was running a pre-order special. The listed price right now on their site is $549 w/free shipping it looks like with the current discount but you might PM Chris to see if you do better. Here is the April thread when the sale was going on and Jeepaddons-Chris post is there too so you can pm him

The Trektop NX looks great, but it is just a little too steep for me at the moment. Will need to save up for a few months. Perhaps they will be cheaper in the Winter when less folks are buying soft tops. I'll keep searching Craigslist in the meantime to see if I can find a good deal on used OEM soft top.

Checkout spiderweb shade. It's not a traditional safari/bikini top. It's made of a mesh type fabric. The thing I like is it can stay on with your regular top and doesn't require a header install. Cool product.

plus one for the spiderwebshade. They are awesome. Inexpensive too but still high quality. And it is multi-purpose. You can take it off easy and make some shade just about anywhere with a little bit of parachute cord and bungies (everyone keeps both of those in their jeep at all times right)

Since the OP asked about a safari top, I would go with the Bestop one if that is specifically what you want. Their quality is high and they stand behind their products.